GOLFMK8
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front sway bars

G

Goodbar

Ready to race!
Location
Maryland, USA
Car(s)
Mk7.5 GSW
Appreciate the info in this thread, which I just read from the top. Regarding the GSW stock FSB:
tigeo said:
It's driven mainly in my opinion by 1) internet bro-science and 2) PITA to install. My car handled fine with just the rear but man the front really made a massive difference in body roll reduction, much more-so than when I added the rear. I think a rear-only upgrade is a nice easy mod for many people. The front on the GSW is only 24mm stock, I believe the GTI/R/Alltrack all have a thicker front bar to start which also helps out with a rear-only upgrade on those models.
Click to expand...
My (hardly authoritative) research in this thread shows an FSB size increase for the Mk7.5 Golf R/GSW 4Mo/Alltrack to 25x4. That's cross-referencing the ETKA PNs with FCP's site (Mk7, Mk7.5). Has anyone confirmed the PN of a FSB removed from one of those models, especially a Mk7.5?

I'm asking because I'm looking at upgraded bars as a matched pair, and it looks like most vendors' spring rate comparisons are to the 24mm bar.
 
G

Goodbar

Ready to race!
Location
Maryland, USA
Car(s)
Mk7.5 GSW
Preparing to do subframe-out upgrades on my GSW 4Mo (Mk7.5) and looking for input on sway bars. The suspension is stock, other than the "R" RSB, and a little tired after 90k+ miles. I'm upgrading to H&R Sport springs (mild drop), Bilstein B8s, solid LCA bushings (TTRS). I'm also swapping in a GTI steering rack and refreshing everything else up front.

The car is street-driven and sees family road trip duty, so NVH increases need to be minor. I like a satisfying driver's car with good turn-in and steering feedback (alas, EPAS) but will not be regularly pushing to the ragged edge. (Yes, I would buy a Miata if I didn't need to cart the kids and dog around!) I'm fine with keeping the existing sway bars if that's a good setup, but want to avoid going back in later to upgrade the FSB.

I've been comparing H&R, Neuspeed, APR and Whiteline bars and found this older Whiteline chart:

1736358240102.png


If my GSW has a 25mm front bar already (see previous post), the Neuspeed 25mm FSB isn't really doing much. I realize that this chart is only a rough guide since there are differences among bars (e.g., solid vs. hollow), but it's close to the numbers that APR and Neuspeed give in comparison to the 24mm R/AT/GSW FSB.

I found a closeout deal on APR's older 28.6mm bar, but I'm concerned that'll be too much (paired with their 25mm RSB). Everyone raves about the H&R bars, though at $700, it's more than I spent for the Bilstein B8s! I'll suck it up if that's the best course, just hoping to find a good upgrade path that complements the springs and dampers, hopefully for a reasonable price.
 
Nineeightyone

Nineeightyone

Autocross Champion
Location
Pennsylvania
Car(s)
Scooty Puff Jr
I did the H&R matched pair on my mk4 and it was amazing, the car drove like a go-kart and I loved it. This time around I'm doing the ST bars (already have the ST XA coilovers), but without much research into it beyond 'I've liked stuff from them in the past, and I already have the RSB'. I will say, I think @GoatAutomotive has a deadset kit that might be of interest to you. I bought one to kill two birds with one stone, because TTY hardware is annoying and I wanted to eliminate subframe slop.

https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/inde...nib-w-arp-hardware-shipping-available.453009/
 
scrllock

scrllock

Autocross Champion
Location
MI
Goodbar said:
I've been comparing H&R, Neuspeed, APR and Whiteline bars and found this older Whiteline chart:

View attachment 315806

If my GSW has a 25mm front bar already (see previous post), the Neuspeed 25mm FSB isn't really doing much. I realize that this chart is only a rough guide since there are differences among bars (e.g., solid vs. hollow), but it's close to the numbers that APR and Neuspeed give in comparison to the 24mm R/AT/GSW FSB.
Click to expand...
The OEM sway bar is hollow, so that graph isn't informative. There's also, like, 6 mk7 bars? Impossible to get wall thickness measurements for all the random ones out there.

Personally I'm using a combination of 26/24mm superpro solid bars and it's fine, I'm considering just buying H&R bushings to see if that eliminates some minor squeaks in the front.


Goodbar said:
Appreciate the info in this thread, which I just read from the top. Regarding the GSW stock FSB:

My (hardly authoritative) research in this thread shows an FSB size increase for the Mk7.5 Golf R/GSW 4Mo/Alltrack to 25x4. That's cross-referencing the ETKA PNs with FCP's site (Mk7, Mk7.5). Has anyone confirmed the PN of a FSB removed from one of those models, especially a Mk7.5?

I'm asking because I'm looking at upgraded bars as a matched pair, and it looks like most vendors' spring rate comparisons are to the 24mm bar.
Click to expand...

I have a set of Mk7.5 R bars on the shelf, I can measure later, though I hope you'll forgive me if I don't cut them open.
 
tigeo

tigeo

Autocross Champion
Location
Richmond, VA area
Goodbar said:
Appreciate the info in this thread, which I just read from the top. Regarding the GSW stock FSB:

My (hardly authoritative) research in this thread shows an FSB size increase for the Mk7.5 Golf R/GSW 4Mo/Alltrack to 25x4. That's cross-referencing the ETKA PNs with FCP's site (Mk7, Mk7.5). Has anyone confirmed the PN of a FSB removed from one of those models, especially a Mk7.5?

I'm asking because I'm looking at upgraded bars as a matched pair, and it looks like most vendors' spring rate comparisons are to the 24mm bar.
Click to expand...
The 24mm number I gave was measured, so that's what it is for the GSW w/4Mo. My guess is the R/AT are larger. 25 rear/27 front works great and keep in mind the fronts (H&R at least) are adjustable so two different rates to play with, I've only had mine on the stiffest setting. FSB putting in work through Oak Tree at VIR:

Screenshot 2025-01-08 135718.jpg
 
xXDavidCXx

xXDavidCXx

Autocross Champion
Location
AZ
Car(s)
2017 GTI SE DSG
Goodbar said:
Preparing to do subframe-out upgrades on my GSW 4Mo (Mk7.5) and looking for input on sway bars. The suspension is stock, other than the "R" RSB, and a little tired after 90k+ miles. I'm upgrading to H&R Sport springs (mild drop), Bilstein B8s, solid LCA bushings (TTRS). I'm also swapping in a GTI steering rack and refreshing everything else up front.

The car is street-driven and sees family road trip duty, so NVH increases need to be minor. I like a satisfying driver's car with good turn-in and steering feedback (alas, EPAS) but will not be regularly pushing to the ragged edge. (Yes, I would buy a Miata if I didn't need to cart the kids and dog around!) I'm fine with keeping the existing sway bars if that's a good setup, but want to avoid going back in later to upgrade the FSB.

I've been comparing H&R, Neuspeed, APR and Whiteline bars and found this older Whiteline chart:

View attachment 315806

If my GSW has a 25mm front bar already (see previous post), the Neuspeed 25mm FSB isn't really doing much. I realize that this chart is only a rough guide since there are differences among bars (e.g., solid vs. hollow), but it's close to the numbers that APR and Neuspeed give in comparison to the 24mm R/AT/GSW FSB.

I found a closeout deal on APR's older 28.6mm bar, but I'm concerned that'll be too much (paired with their 25mm RSB). Everyone raves about the H&R bars, though at $700, it's more than I spent for the Bilstein B8s! I'll suck it up if that's the best course, just hoping to find a good upgrade path that complements the springs and dampers, hopefully for a reasonable price.
Click to expand...
It looks like the bar I run, Hotchkis is available again and appears to be on sale.

https://www.hotchkis.net/product/20...om-hotchkis-sport-suspension/?mk=&yr=&md=&sm=
 
G

Goodbar

Ready to race!
Location
Maryland, USA
Car(s)
Mk7.5 GSW
G

Goodbar

Ready to race!
Location
Maryland, USA
Car(s)
Mk7.5 GSW
G

Goodbar

Ready to race!
Location
Maryland, USA
Car(s)
Mk7.5 GSW
2019 Golf R

2019 Golf R

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Charlotte, NC
2019 Golf R said:
Ordered a SuperPro FSB 26mm with endlinks to match up with my SuperPro RSB 24mm with endlinks after reading this thread. Currently, I have the RSB set to full stiff and when pushed it's hardest, can get the rear to step out briefly on track. Looking forward to what the FSB changes will bring - thinking of running it at full soft with the rear staying at full stiff.

Background - Factory springs and DCC dampers with the Clubsport S chassis/suspension upgrades.
Click to expand...

Short update: My car will now be running the updated Ohlins R/T kit with 70nm/80nm spring rates. My use is daily driving, mountain runs like Wookies and HPDE in Intermediate class. I'm running on PS4S stock R width/height.

Would you swap back in the factory swaybars or keep the 26/24mm SuperPros? If so, back them down to soft or keep them at full stiff? They're a mild bar over OEM so just wondering. Comfort is key since this is "dads car." 😋
 
scrllock

scrllock

Autocross Champion
Location
MI
2019 Golf R said:
Short update: My car will now be running the updated Ohlins R/T kit with 70nm/80nm spring rates. My use is daily driving, mountain runs like Wookies and HPDE in Intermediate class. I'm running on PS4S stock R width/height.

Would you swap back in the factory swaybars or keep the 26/24mm SuperPros? If so, back them down to soft or keep them at full stiff? They're a mild bar over OEM so just wondering. Comfort is key since this is "dads car." 😋
Click to expand...
I think the Ohlins are a little soft out of the box, I had that setup for a while (26/24 superpro + 70/80 ohlins) and it's excellent for the mountains but due to the motion ratios on these cars you want an even stiffer divorced spring in the rear, 120-140nm imo. The rear axle does do work but you really want to keep weight pushed onto the front as much as possible out of corners.

I wouldn't go back to stock sway bars, did you install the front 26mm bar yet? I would try moving the rear bar back to soft and seeing how it behaves. It's great if you can get the car to rotate but if it's "stepping out" that sounds like a loss in speed to me, given you'd have torque going to the rear when that happens.

Personally I ended up going to stiffer rates (90/140) and H&R bars (much quieter). It's not usable for daily driving unless you're an insane person but I would attribute that to the springs, not the bars. For most people, stock-like springs with big bars is way more livable than very stiff springs with stock bars.
 
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